Live game coverage: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (Week 7)

With this Seahawks team facing the 49ers at Candlestick Park this evening, we should be in store for some smash-mouth football.

Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, left, and rookie quarterback Russell Wilson talk while the Seahawks warm up Thursday for their game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

Seattle (4-2, 0-2 NFC West) is looking for its first divisional win Thursday while San Francisco (4-2, 0-0 NFC West) is looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss Sunday to the New York Giants. While the Niners and their top-ranked defense and top-ranked running game are favored to win by 9 (the spread was 7 on Wednesday), being the underdog hasn’t stopped the Seahawks from beating teams like the Cowboys, Packers and Patriots with the leadership of running back Marshawn Lynch and rookie quarterback Russell Wilson.

San Francisco QB Alex Smith has been averaging 214.5 passing yards per game, ranking the 49ers air attack just 26th in the NFL. Meanwhile, Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary and the Seahawks’ intimidating pass rush have combined to become one of the most talked-about defenses in the country. That said, the 49ers have outscored opponents 152-94 this season, and an average 387.0 total yards per game ranks them seventh-best in the league. The Seahawks have the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense, giving up 294.7 total yards per game.

As such, Wilson could end up being the deciding factor Thursday. If he’s off his game, if he plays like he did early in the season, the Seahawks could have real trouble keeping up with the Niners. Seattle is ranked 31st out of 32 in passing, with 169.7 yards per game, though Seattle does have the seventh-best rushing game with 131.0 yards on the ground a week. Yet, if Wilson plays like he has recently, since head coach Pete Carroll has began opening up his playbook, he could lead the Hawks to another exhilarating win like he did against the Patriots on Sunday.

A victory Thursday would be huge for Seattle. If the Seahawks are 5-2 come Friday morning, getting their first NFC West win against the powerful 49ers, it’s hard to imagine the football world wouldn’t start looking at Seattle as a legitimate playoff contender — if not a team gunning for the Super Bowl.

For the 49ers, offensive tackle Joe Staley and running back Brandon Jacobs are listed as active. Quarterback Alex Smith, who has a right finger injury, will of course play through it. Wide receiver Mario Manningham is inactive with a shoulder injury. Also inactive for San Francisco are wide receiver A.J. Jenkins, running back LaMichael James, safety Trenton Robinson, guard Joe Looney, nose tackle Ian Williams and third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien.

— And we’re ready to go! Seahawks will kick off to the 49ers. … San Francisco’s Ted Ginn returns it back to the 49ers’ 20-yard line.

— SF running back Frank Gore carries it twice to get the first down. 49ers have first-and-10 from their own 34.

— On third-and-3, Alex Smith passes to wide receiver Randy Moss for a first down. San Fran’s now at Seattle’s 45.

— Smith passes deep right on first-and-10 but overthrows wide receiver Kyle Williams. … Gore pushes up the middle for 4 yards and it’s third-and-6 at Seattle’s 40-yard line. … Smith goes deep left again to Williams but it’s way over his head. Again. That brings up fourth down and punter Andy Lee is about to kick it to Seattle’s Leon Washington. … San Francisco downs it inside Seattle’s 5-yard line. QB Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seahawks’ offense will take over with 10:44 left in the first quarter.

— Seattle’s first play is a play-action pass left to fullback Michael Robinson, who runs it up the sideline for the first down. Seattle now has the ball at the 16-yard line.

— RB Marshawn Lynch goes up the middle for 2. … Lynch charges right through the line for 4 yards, and Seattle has third-and-4 from the 22. … From the shotgun, Wilson throws short right to Doug Baldwin for the first down. The Seahawks now have first-and-10 from their own 29.

— Wilson passes left to Lynch, who is wide open and charges ahead, though safety Dashon Goldson and the first-down line, until he’s taken down at the 41. San Francisco takes its first timeout of the game with 7:11 left in the first quarter. Seattle now has first-and-10.

— Wilson is taken down, but there was a flag on the play for offsides. … Yep, S.F. defensive tackle Ray McDonald jumped offsides and that negates the sack. Five-yard penalty and Seattle has first-and-5.

— Lynch is bulldozed down for a loss of 1 yard. After the play, Goldson — who just got pummeled by Lynch a few plays ago — was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct while the players were all tangled up. That gives Seattle 15 free yards and first-and-10 at the 49ers’ 39-yard line.

— Lynch rushes for 5 and it’s second-and-5 at the 34. … Oooh, Wilson just passed mid-range right to running back Robert Turbin, who dropped the perfect pass. That could have been a touchdown. … Wilson passes over wide receiver Ben Obomanu and it’s fourth down. Kicker Stephen Hauschka is out for the 52-yard attempt. It’s good, and the Seahawks have taken a 3-0 lead with 5:29 left. The scoring drive was 10 plays, 62 yards, 5:05.

— Hauschka kicks it off and it’s into the end zone. San Francisco downs it for a touchback. … After two stops by the Seahawks’ defence, the 49ers have third-and-10 from their own 20-yard line. And they’ve taken another timeout. There’s 5:17 left in the first quarter. What’s up with the Niners? Two timeouts already?

— A screen from Smith to Gore gets the 49ers past the 30 and gives them a first down. San Francisco now has first-and-10 from the 32. … Oooh, big run from Gore. He went up the middle for 18 yards. That’s a first down for the Niners, who now have first-and-10 from the 50. … Gore gets 6 more yards on another carry. … On second-and-4, Smith tosses to running back Kendall Hunter, who runs it right on the sweep for a first down. Now San Francisco has first-and-10 from Seattle’s 35-yard line.

— Oof, three Seahawks just missed a tackle on wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who just went up the right sideline for another first down. San Francisco now has first-and-10 from the 19. They’re in the red zone now. … Smith passes incomplete up the center, though the TV announcers are saying it should have been pass interference on the Seahawks. … Gore gets 1 on a carry up the center, and it’s third-and-9. … Seattle defensive end Jason Jones sacks Smith behind the line of scrimmage, and that’ll bring out the Niners’ kicking team.

— Kicker David Akers tries for a 38-yarder, and it’s good. San Francisco ties it up 3-3 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. The scoring drive was 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:03. … Akers is back out for the kickoff. It goes deep into the end zone and Washington takes a knee. Seattle will take over from the 20.

— Lynch follows fullback Robinson up through the line for a gain of 7 yards, and Seattle now has second-and-3 from the Seahawks’ 27. … And that’s the end of the first quarter.

— Now headed the other direction, Wilson passes a perfect strike to tight end Evan Moore, but Moore dropped it. That’s two big drops already for the Seahawks. It’s now third-and-3.

— Wilson passes deep right to a wide-open Obomanu, who got past midfield and fell down at San Francisco’s 37-yard line. That was a 31-yard pass from Wilson. … And now a big rush by Lynch, who picked up 15 yards and the first down. Seattle now has first-and-10 from the Niners’ 22.

— Turbin taken down for a loss by defensive tackle Justin Smith. It’s second-and-13. … Wilson passes to Baldwin at the 16, and Baldwin is shoved out of bounds. It’s now third-and-5 from SF’s 17. … And now the 49ers take their third and final timeout of the first half. What?! There’s 12:17 left in the second quarter.

— Wilson goes to wide receiver Braylon Edwards in the center of the end zone. Edwards somehow caught it, but couldn’t hang on as linebacker Patrick Willis ripped it out of his hands. That brings up fourth down.

— OK, Hauschka kicks the 35-yard field goal and Seattle takes a 6-3 lead with 12:07 left in the second quarter. The scoring drive was 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:19.

— Hauschka’s kickoff is perfectly placed at the goal line and Ginn grabs it for the return. He makes it up to about the 20-yard line but then retreats back, looking for room off to the left. He’s taken down at San Francisco’s own 16.

— Gore carries it for 3. … Smith passes incomplete to the right, but there must have been some miscommunication because he didn’t have any receivers there. Third-and-7 is now coming up for the Niners. … False start on San Francisco tackle Joe Staley and the 49ers have third-and-12. … Under pressure, Smith passes short to Gore, who is promptly taken down by the Seahawks secondary. Here comes SF punter Andy Lee.

— Washington just about screwed up that punt. He caught it over his head and it popped out of his hands, but he was able to jump on it and is downed at Seattle’s 32-yard line. The Seahawks will take over with 10:32 left in the second quarter.

— The Seahawks go with play-action, but Wilson is pressured and decides to scramble left. He slides down at the 34 and gets tackled. A flag comes out but the officials rule there was no personal foul for the late hit. … Lynch carries it for 3. … On third-and-5, Wilson passes to wide receiver Sidney Rice on the left sideline, who grabs it for a gain of 27 yards. First down Seahawks at SF’s 35.

— Wilson throws it away on first down. … From the shotgun, Wilson is pressured and scrambles right. Willis takes him down for the sack at the line of scrimmage. … On third-and-10, Lynch takes the handoff and runs it inside for just 2 yards. … Hauschka is out for the long field-goal attempt. His 51-yarder is wide left. No score. And the Seahawks turn it over on downs at SF’s 41-yard line. There’s 6:56 left in the second quarter.

— I have this strange feeling that this game is going to come down to special teams.

— Gore rushes for 5. … Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner takes down RB Hunter for no gain. … On third-and-3, cornerback Marcus Trufant gets a huge tackle on WR Crabtree, who had gotten the short screen from Smith to the right. That brings up fourth down and SF’s punting team.

— Lee’s punt goes to Washington at the 14-yard line, who calls the fair catch. There’s 4:56 left in the first half. Seattle takes over again.

— Ooh, there’s a late flag on the play. Seahawks is called for unnecessary roughness. … Wait a minute, the officials say there are two fouls — both for personal fouls. They offset. One was on SF linebacker Larry Grant. The one on Seattle wasn’t called on a specific player.

— Lynch powers through the middle of the field for a gain of 14 yards. Seattle now has first-and-10 from the 28. … Lynch carries left, breaks a couple of tackles and is taken down at the 34 for a gain of 6 yards. … Turbin gets the ball and runs for 14 yards down the left sideline. Another Seattle first down. The Seahawks now have first-and-10 from their own 49.

— Turbin carries it 4 yards to the San Francisco 47-yard line. … On second-and-6, Turbin gets it again and he gets 2 yards. Oh, but the play’s spoiled by a holding call on Seattle tackle Russell Okung. He’s had some issues this season with penalties. After the 10-yard penalty, the Seahawks now have second-and-16 from their own 43. And we’re at the two-minute warning.

— Wilson tries a deep, deep pass up the right sideline to Golden Tate. He’s run out of bounds, it looked like, during his route. But he can’t get to the pass and it drops incomplete. Third down. … Seattle takes a timeout with 1:52 left. It’s third-and-16 from the Seahawks’ own 43.

— Wilson rolls right and goes deep again to Tate, but Tate can’t make the grab and it’s incomplete. … Seattle punter Jon Ryan puts up his first of the game. Ginn grabs it at about the 12-yard line and then returns it 39 yards. That’s a big special-teams play. San Francisco now takes over from the 50-yard line with 1:27 left in the first half.

— Washington fair-catches Lees punt at Seattle’s 8. … Wilson takes a knee to take us to halftime. At the break, the Seahawks lead the 49ers 6-3.

— Lots of pressure from the Seahawks — pressure credited to defensive end Greg Scruggs — makes Smith throw it away. … On second-and-10, Smith throws it at his receiver’s feet up the middle and it’s third-and-10. Oooh, on replay we saw that defensive end Chris Clemons got his hand on Smith’s facemask during the throw. … Smith is sacked! Hard to tell who got the sack. Huge stop for the Seahawks and the Niners will have to punt.

— Washington fair-catches it at Seattle’s 8-yard line. … Wilson takes a knee and that takes us to halftime. At the break, the Seahawks are leading the 49ers 6-3. It’s been quite the defensive face-off.

— OK, here are the halftime stats. Seattle has 177 total yards to San Francisco’s 115 total yards. The Seahawks have 103 passing yards at halftime and the 49ers have just 57. On the ground, Seattle has 74 rushing yards to the Niners’ 58. The Seahawks have run two more plays than the 49ers, 29 to 27.

Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch, who managed just 41 yards on Sunday versus the Patriots, has 55 yards on 9 carries in the first half against San Francisco. RB Robert Turbin added 16 yards on 3 carries. Meanwhile, the Seahawks defense has held SF RB Frank Gore to 39 rushing yards on six carries. RB Kendall Hunter added 16 yards on 3 carries. As far as the air game goes, Seattle QB Russell Wilson has 103 passing yards on 6-for-13 play, and is averaging 7.9 yards per completion with a 73.6 quarterback rating at halftime. SF QB Alex Smith is 7-for-15 with just 59 passing yards, giving him a 57.4 rating through one half.

— Alright, Akers is kicking off to Seattle’s Leon Washington. It goes beyond the end zone and that’s a touchback. The Seahawks will start the second half with first-and-10 at their own 20.

— Lynch rushes 9 yards up the middle and that’s how the Seahawks start the second half. … On second-and-1, Lynch powers through to the 36 for the first down. … Lynch carries it to the 41-yard line. … Turbin, giving Lynch a break, gets about 1 yard. That brings up third down. … On third-and-4, Wilson hands it off to Leon Washington, who takes it left but is taken down before the first-down line by linebacker Patrick Willis. … Seattle punter Jon Ryan is coming out.

— Ohh, SF tight end Demarcus Dobbs is called for illegal formation on the special-teams play. That’s a five-yard penalty and gives the Seahawks the first down at their 49.

— On first-and-10, under lots of pressure, Wilson runs around the backfield for a bit before throwing it away. … On second-and-10, Lynch finds a hole left through the line and picks up 8 yards. … On third-and-2, from the shotgun, Wilson throws a quick pass to WR Golden Tate — who dropped it. That’s the third big dropped pass for the Seahawks. … P Ryan is back out for the Seahawks and it’s fair-caught by WR Ted Ginn at SF’s 14-yard line. The Niners will take over with 10:49 left in the third quarter.

— Smith throws short up the middle to RB Frank Gore, who gets the first down. … And another first down on a pass to the left to RB Kendall Hunter. … On first-and-10 from SF’s own 40, Gore carries it for 6 yards to the 46. … Oop, an encroachment penalty on Seattle defensive tackle Brandon Mebane gives the 49ers a free five yards and the first down.

— Smith dumps it off to Gore, who gets another first down. The Niners have a rhythm going. … On first-and-10 from Seattle’s own 47, Gore carries it up the center for yet another first down.

— On first-and-10 at Seattle’s 26, Gore goes for another 3 up the middle. … Big tackle for a loss by Seattle linebacker K.J. WRight, who brings down RB Kendall Hunter in the backfield. … On third-and-9, Smith completes up the center to WR Michael Crabtree. And that’s another first down. The Niners are at Seattle’s 15. … Gore takes it for 2.

— On second-and-7, Smith passes to tight end Delanie Walker for a huge play. He takes it to the end zone and it’s a touchdown. The San Francisco 49ers score the first TD of the game and take a 9-6 lead. … The extra point by Akers is good and it’s SF 10, Seattle 6. The scoring drive was 10 plays, 86 yards, 6:20.

— We’ve got 4:29 left in the third quarter. Akers kicks off and the ball bounces through the back of the end zone for a touchback. … And now we’ve got a bit of a scuffle on the field, though no flags were thrown.

— On first-and-10 from Seattle’s 20, Wilson gets in trouble in the pocket but scrambles out of it up to the 29-yard line for a 9-yard gain, nearly 10. … Lynch pushes over the first-down line and Seattle now has it at the 31 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

— On first down, Lynch carries it left for 2. … Oof, on a play-action pass, Wilson throws deep to WR Braylon Edwards but he’s hit as he throws. The ball flies over Edwards and is picked off by SF safety Dashon Goldson. That’s Wilson’s first interception of the day. The Niners now take over from their own 27 after Goldson ran out of bounds.

— Gore carries it for 3 on first down. … Smith looks for a passer but then scrambles left for a first down. … On first-and-10 from the SF 38, Gore takes it for 1. … Smith completes a quick pass to RB Williams for a gain of 18 and the first down. The Niners are really having their way right now. … And that’s the end of the third quarter.

— Nice tackle by Wright. He takes down Gore for a SF loss of 3. The Niners now have second-and-12 from Seattle’s 45. … HUGE run by Gore. He takes it up the middle and breaks through. That takes him past the 100-yard mark for rushing. Safety Earl Thomas makes the open-field tackle to get Gore down at Seattle’s 8.

— After gaining 2 on the first down, SF has Smith keep the ball and scramble left. But he’s taken down for a loss of 1 yard and it’s third-and-goal from Seattle’s 7.

— Smith rolls left under pressure and throws it into the end zone, where Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner picks it off! He gets 4 yards on the interception return and the Seahawks take back over from their own 3-yard line. There’s 11:58 left in the game. HUGE turnover for the Seahawks!

— On first down, Lynch carries it for a loss of 1 yard. The ball came out, but the officials ruled Lynch down. By the video replay, however, it looked like it was actually a fumble. Fortunately for the Seahawks, they appeared to recover it. We’re now waiting for an official review. … Oh, the official ruling was the Lynch’s forward progress had stopped, so the officials whistled the play dead. Seattle retains the ball. … Lynch runs 6 up the middle and the Seahawks now have third-and-4. … Wilson dumps it right to Lynch, who dropped the pass. And that’s the FOURTH dropped pass for Seattle. … Ryan’s out for the punt.

— Ginn grabs it at the SF 35 and returns it 16 yards past midfield to Seattle’s 49. That’s great field position for the 49ers. There’s 10:11 left in the game.

— Gore (what’s new) carries it through a hole in the line for a 10-yard gain and the first down. Now SF is at Seattle’s 39. … A short pass to Hunter gets the Niners about 3, with a tackle by Wright. … And another huge run by Gore. He takes it up the middle and breaks through. He falls down at the 16-yard line and is downed. Not good for the Seahawks, who are starting to look tired.

— Toss-sweep to Hunter, who runs down the right sideline for a first down. But there’s a flag on the play — holding on SF tackle Anthony Davis knocks the Niners back 10 yards. … On second-and-long, Hunter takes it up the middle for 10 yards. … On third-and-7, the Seahawks come up with a big stop and hold the Niners to, likely, a field goal.

— Yep, Akers kicks the 28-yard field goal and San Francisco takes a 13-6 lead. The Seahawks are still back by only a touchdown. … SF’s scoring drive was 7 plays, 39 yards, 4:47. We have 5:24 left to play in the game.

— Alright, it’s crunch time. Washington fields Akers’ kickoff but it’s in the back of the end zone. Touchback. The Seahawks will take over from their own 20-yard line with about 5:20 left to play in the game. Seattle is in yet another come-from-behind situation in the final minutes. Can Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ offense do it again?

— Lynch powers through for 9 yards, nearly 10, and Seattle now has second-and-1 coming up. … Lynch, who by the way now has over 100 yards on the ground, gets stopped for almost no gain but gets the first down. … And now with 4:07 left in the game, San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh is challenging the ruling on that last play — whether Lynch actually got the first down. The video replay makes it look like Lynch was short. … After the review, the officials rule that Lynch was down at the 29-yard line, short of the first down, giving Seattle third-and-1.

— On third down, Wilson hands it off to fullback Michael Robinson, who pushes the pile over the first-down line. … On first-and-10, Wilson tosses a screen pass right to WR Doug Baldwin, who is immediately tackled by cornerback Carlos Rogers. … On second down, Wilson passes to WR Sidney Rice, who’s right at the first-down line, but it’s defended well and the pass falls incomplete. … Now it’s third-and-12. The Seahawks can’t get the snap off in time and Wilson calls a timeout. That’s Seattle’s first timeout. There’s 2:23 left in the game. Coming down to the wire!

— On third-and-12 from the Seattle 29, Wilson passes left but the pass is tipped. … And now there’s a flag. This could be big. … Well, nope — no foul for pass interference because the pass was tipped. Linebacker Patrick Willis got the tip. … Ryan gets off a soaring punt to Gill, who fields it behind the 10-yard line and returns it 16 yards to SF’s own 23.

— Seattle needs a three-and-out here. On first down, Hunter carries it for 3 yards. And we’re at the two-minute warning. For the Seahawks, it’s a warning indeed. Sirens must be going off — the Seahawks are very close to losing this game.

— On second-and-8, Hunter takes it but gets no gain. It’s now third-and-8. This ought to be the biggest play of the game for the Seahawks defense. Seattle called its second timeout with 1:54 left to play. … Smith scrambles left and is stopped 5 yards short of the first down, and the Seahawks got the third-and-out they needed. Seattle calls its last timeout with 1:48. Heeeeeere we go!

— Washington fields Lee’s long punt at the 8 and is taken down at the 11. With 1:36 left in the game, it’s time for Wilson and the Seattle offense.

— Wilson passes quick right to Rice and he goes out of bounds at the 16 for a 5-yard pickup. … On second-and-5, SF linebacker Aldon Smith gets a HUGE sack on Wilson. … On third-and-12, Wilson gets the snap but the play is stopped — false start on tackle Breno Giacomini. It’s third-and-17. … Wilson throws it away over the head of tight end Zach Miller. The Seahawks will have to go for it on fourth down and this will be their last chance. There are 57 second left in the game.

— Wilson passes down the middle to WR Ben Obomanu, who is RIGHT at the first-down line. San Francisco looks like it was able to stop him, but the officials will review it.

— Ohhhhhhh … something just went wrong. Offensive tackle Paul McQuistan was called for an illegal block in the end zone during that last play. A flag flew. And the result of the play is a safety, the officials say. … Meanwhile, on review of that pass to Obomanu, it was ruled that he didn’t cross the plane. San Francisco ends up declining the penalty on McQuistan so that they get the ball after Seattle’s turnover on downs, opting to forego 2 extra points on the safety. Seattle just lost. The 49ers just have to take a knee at Seattle’s 21-yard line. There are 43 seconds left in the game.

— Smith takes a knee and the clock runs out. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 13-6. Seattle never even got a touchdown.